Villainess Review: Bea (Fantasy Island)

I love the current Fantasy Island reboot with a passion. I love everything about the show. It was my Tuesday jam during the first season, but now it's my Monday habit after 9-1-1 airs. I drink in every episode, enjoy the guest stars, really love the plotlines, and the fantasies in every episode are absolutely amazing. There's just one little thing that I can't help but notice: where are the villainesses? It hasn't bothered me because I love the show, but it would be nice to see just one pop up in this series.

As the saying goes, "19th time's the charm." I'll explain later.

The episode, "Gwenivere of Glendale," focused on a young woman named Gwen, who simply wanted to get away from the stress of having dropped out of medical school and all else, and wished to be a princess. That's all. Gwen's fantasy took her to a medieval period, where she's being bathed by handmaidens and is approached by her main caretaker, Bea, while learning that she is a princess. Gwen quickly drinks in the royal life, which includes an engagement to a prince, Anton. A celebration takes place, but things take a dark turn when one of her maids, Fern, suddenly collapses.

Fern foams at the mouth before collapsing, and it comes after eating some cake that was meant for Gwen. Turns out it was poisoned with cyanide, and after Gwen learns that she, not Fern, was the true target, Bea voiced her suspicions towards a northern kingdom, claiming that they're after Gwen. Anton makes the same suspicion to Gwen, but she learns everything from Lance, one of the servants. As Lance reveals, Anton's behind everything; he wants to start a war with the northern kingdom, and used Gwen as a pawn, even attempting to poison her to set up his potential enemies. Lance's attempt to get Gwen to safety results in his capture, though Gwen escapes while disguised as one of the knights, and later informs Bea about Anton's plan.

Bea was stunned by the revelation, and is tasked to find King Yahir, while Gwen saves Lance, following a revelation that the true reason why Gwen dropped out of medical school was because a professor's harsh scolding convinced her that she couldn't handle the medical field. The plan is for all of them to meet at the courtyard, but they arrive to find Anton, his henchmen, and to Gwen's shock, Bea...standing alongside Anton. Bea reveals that she informed Anton about Gwen, and later vented that she spent years tending to Gwen while her own daughters were in squalor. As a result of her treachery, Bea was set to receive a title that (in her words) she deserved, but what the villainess and Anton didn't count on was Gwen (in the immortal words of the late, great Joe Cocker) getting by with a little help from her friends. So all's well that ends well, which is the case on Fantasy Island. Anton and Bea are imprisoned, Lance was revealed to be in his own fantasy that intertwined with Gwen's, and the pair actually ended up together, with Gwen looking to give the medical field another go.

"Gwenivere of Glendale" was the ninth episode of Fantasy Island's second season, and aired on April 10, 2023. The episode featured Stella Doyle as the villainous nurse, Bea, who--after 19 total episodes--serves as the very first villainess to appear on FOX's reboot. I was excited for this episode because I knew that we would finally see a villainess appear; I mean, a royal atmosphere in a medieval setting? Perfect chance for a wicked woman to appear and work her evil magic. I had Bea pegged from jumpstreet, it's always the ones who are very close to the protagonist. Bea's heel turn in the climax was delicious, as we saw Bea portrayed as a woman who was willing to betray a princess who she had known for her whole life (as well as condone mass genocide), as long as she got what she wanted. Doyle's performance was spectacular. She acted out Bea's kindness to Gwen very well, and made it seem very genuine. She also acted out Bea's concern in stellar fashion, but when it came to Bea's heel turn, Doyle hit it out of the park while acting out Bea's self-serving betrayal.

An interesting fact I learned about Stella Doyle: she actually worked for the LAPD before getting bit by the proverbial acting bug. She has appeared on several different TV shows, including Scream, Ordinary Joe, and The Winchesters, and in film, Doyle appeared in 2021's The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, which premiered on HBO Max that year.

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Check out Bea's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!